FIG. 5 of this specification shows a common pressure contact type terminal fitting. The fitting shown in FIG. 5 is female. Its anterior end has a connecting member 71 into which a corresponding terminal fitting is inserted. Its posterior end has a pressure contact member 72 which is electrically connected with a core of an electric wire by cutting through the covered portion of the wire, and barrels 73 for clamping the covered portion of the wire. The pressure contact member 72 has towards its anterior and posterior ends two pairs of pressure contact blades 75 which are formed so as to mutually face each other by being part-sheared out from left and right side walls 74. When an electric wire is inserted into a pressure contact groove 76 formed between the pressure contact blades 75, each pressure contact blade 75 cuts into the covered portion of the wire and makes electrical contact with the core.
The width of the pressure contact grooves 76 poses a problem when pressure contact is made with the electric wire. That is, if the pressure contact groove is too wide, the pressure contact blades cannot make a good mechanical contact with the core, resulting in poor electrical contact. If, on the other hand, the width is too narrow, the pressure contact blades can cut through the core wire. For this reason, improving the accuracy of the width of the pressure contact groove is an extremely important issue.
The pressure contact groove in the terminal fitting shown in FIG. 5 is formed by part-shearing, and due to the angle of shearing, an accurate width of the groove is difficult to obtain. For this reason, the accuracy of the width of the pressure contact groove frequently presents a problem. In particular, the springing back of the pressure contact blades adversely affects the width.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problems into consideration, and aims to provide an accurate dimension of width of a pressure contact groove in a terminal fitting of the type wherein pressure contact blades are cut out from side walls so as to face each other.